My Thoughts On Tiger

I just watched Tiger's speech. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. Boy was I wrong. You could feel the pain in every part of his speech and body language. He looked totally defeated. Good, he should be. I thought the most telling part of the speech was the part where he said.."I felt entitled"
He is not the first powerful person to think there are laws and rules for us commoners and then others for himself. He will also not be the last.

I know some will feel it was contrived and not sincere. Time will tell is he is really contrite but for this day he showed his human side for maybe the first time. His wife was so right when she talked of actions will tell the story, not words.

I also think his pledge to be a better person on the golf course is absolutely part of his rehabilitation. He will be not be given a pass as he has been given in the past. Times are changed, maybe forever, for Tiger and that is a good thing. A dose of humility never hurt anyone and he has I feel been humbled.

His detractors wanted more. People who disliked Tiger in the past got nothing from this apology. His fans, which I am one, are looking for this great athlete to get his life in order. I just want to see this man play golf again. The sooner the better. I hope he finds healing and becomes the greatest father and husband along with being the greatest athlete on the planet.

I See No Trades Making Mavs Better

The Dallas Mavericks started the season with a lot of promise. They added new players and were playing at a high level. Lately all the trends are going down and the team is having trouble beating anyone. The bottom may have been hit with a home loss to the Timber wolves. They of three win on the road all season.

Grumblings have become louder with each loss. The ire of the fans seems to have become focused on Josh Howard. This season he has missed a lot of time with injuries. The problem is when he plays he has not played very well. So the rumors have started on the trade front. The Mavs have done nothing to dispel these rumors and instead of fed them. Several suspects have been talked about in the past few days and weeks. Josh trade partners, if rumors are to be believed, are Caron Butler, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Martin. I propose to look at their statistics extended to 48 minutes and see how they stack up with Josh.

Caron Butler......... F/G  16.7 ppg...6.8 rpg..42.2%/31.7 3'S..48 minutes avg..20.54 ppg..8.364 rpg
Andre Iguodala......F/G  20.7 ppg...7.0 rpg..42.6 %/31.7 3'S..48 minutes avg..24.84 ppg..8.4 rpg
Kevin Martin.........G  20.4 ppg...................38.4%/36.3 3'S...48 minutes avg...24.84 ppg
Josh Howard..........G/F 12.5 ppg...3.6 rpg...40%/26.4 3'S......48 minutes avg...23.07 ppg..6.664 rpg

All the potential trade partners have remaining year on their contracts. Josh's contract has a team option for next season. All potential trade partners want something more than Josh in return. They either want the Mavs to take additional contract/contracts or give up a young player. When you extend their minutes I see a lot of the same except with additional cost in additional contracts or the Mavs including a player they don't want to include. Unless I see a trade that makes better sense than these, I don't make any of these trades.

I also see a Josh Howard that is getting better as his injury heals. I see a player who can create his own shot and plays good defense. I am not saying I wouldn't trade Josh. I am saying I wouldn't trade Josh for any of these players.